Secondary education programs at Illinois State University have collaborated to provide first-class professional development school offerings for their majors. All secondary education programs are housed in colleges outside of the College of Education, making this partnership a cross-campus venture. History Education majors, for example, graduate from the History Department in the College of Arts and Sciences. Because of this unique arrangement, many colleges participate in the Professional Development School (PDS) program, and faculty from across the campus are active in the partnership.
The goal of the secondary education PDS program is to provide future middle and high school teachers with a fully immersed experience in a secondary school setting. Students electing to participate in the PDS program begin working in their PDS site on the first day of the professional development school's academic year. Each candidate is placed with a trained mentor teacher who facilitates his or her transition into the teaching profession. Students are able to immediately apply what they learn in their classes (offered on-site) to the classroom setting. In addition, they have the support of their peers who participate as a cohort throughout the year.